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Should You Disable Java?

The headlines are ablaze with the news of a new zero-day vulnerability in Java which could expose you to a remote attacker.

The Department of Homeland Security recommends disabling Java completely and many experts are apparently concurring. Crisis communications 101 says maintain high-volume, multi-channel communications but there is a strange silence from Oracle, aside of the announcement of a patch for said vulnerability.

Allowing your opponents to define you is a bad mistake as any political consultant will tell you. Today it’s Java, tomorrow, some other widely used component. The shrillness of the calls also makes me wonder why the hullabaloo? Upset by the Oracle stewardship of Java, perhaps?

So what should you make of the “disable Java” calls echoing across Cyberia? Personally I think it’s bad advice, assuming you can even take the advice in the first place. Java is widespread in server side applications (usually enterprise software) and embedded devices. There is probably no easy way to “upgrade” a heart pump or elevator control or a POS system. As far as server side, this may be easier but spare a thought to backward compatibility and business applications that are “certified” on older browsers. Pause a moment, the vulnerability becomes exposed when you visit a malicious website which can then take advantage of the flaw and get on your machine.

Instead of disabling Java and thereby possibly breaking critical functionality, why don’t you limit access to outside websites instead? This is easily done by configuring proxy servers (good for desktops or mobile situations) or limiting devices to a subnet that only has access to the trusted internal hosts (this can work for bar code scanners or manufacturing equipment). This limits your exposure. Proxy server filtering at the internet perimeter is done by matching the user agent string. This is also a good way to limit those older insecure browsers that must be present for internal applications from accessing the outside and potentially being equally a source of infection in the enterprise.

This is a serious issue that merits a thoughtful response, not a panicked rush to comply and cripple your enterprise.

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